Entertainment

Vevo Launches Its On-Demand Music Videos iPhone App [EXCLUSIVE]

Vevo is bringing on-demand music video streaming to mobile with the launch of its long-awaited iPhone app.

The free application [iTunes link], which just launched in the iPhone App Store, focuses on bringing top artists like Usher and Lady Gaga to device owners, but also promotes emerging artists.

When you first launch the app, you'll be greeted by a carousel of top music videos that are burning up the Vevo charts. You can choose to watch one of these or just browse through Vevo's catalog. Vevo told us yesterday that all of its videos are available on the iPhone and that new videos will appear in the app at the same time as they appear on Vevo.com. This makes the app a true extension of Vevo.

Browsing videos focuses on three areas: top videos, music video premieres and new videos. You can also browse top artists (familiar faces like Eminem, Justin Bieber and Kanye West), artists who are currently on tour and "new" artists. The latter is a collection of emerging talent that Vevo and the music labels have identified, which provides new and unique sounds when you get bored of Shakira and Waka Waka.

Every video comes with the ability to share via Twitter, Facebook and e-mail. It also includes an option to buy individual songs via iTunes and the ability to read comments (posting comments will come in a future updates). There's also a "Nearby Videos" feature that shows you what videos are hot locally by figuring out who's getting the most plays on Vevo in your town or city.

We've had some time to play with the app, and we think it's slick. You can't play most music videos on your iPhone via YouTube because of the licensing rights, but none of that is a problem for Vevo. Plus, the video quality and video browsing interface are both stellar. We're also fans of some of the little things, such as the small music industry factoids that appear while you're waiting for your movie to load.

That's not to say the app is perfect; it still lacks a few features such as multitasking support and the ability to connect the app to your Vevo account, but it's a great start that nails the video viewing experience. Also, because of licensing restrictions, the app is only available in the U.S. and Canada.

Since its launch in December 2009, Vevo, a joint partnership between music labels Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and EMI, has experienced sharp growth. The site is now one of the largest video platforms on the web, thanks to a technology and content partnership with YouTube.

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